Hicks Car Works: Rock Island Southern

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Rock Island Southern - Eastern Division

HISTORY OF THE EASTERN DIVISION

The initial segment of the Rock Island Southern was incorporated as the Western Illinois Traction Company in 1902, intending to build a 16-mile interurban line between Monmouth and Galesburg parallel to the CB&Q. This company laid two miles of track in Monmouth and then failed. It was reorganized by the Walsh Brothers as the Rock Island Southern Railroad in 1905 and resumed construction of the interurban line to Galesburg. The powerhouse and carbarn were located at Cameron, about halfway between the terminal cities. In Galesburg, the final 2½ miles of the route used tracks of the People's Traction Company (PT). Service between Monmouth and Galesburg started on May 30, 1906. Power was the usual 600V DC with simple suspended trolley wire.

Initial rolling stock consisted of three interurban combines of standard design, plus one box motor. Two ex-New York Elevated cars were added in 1908, although little information and no pictures of them are available.

With this limited roster, regular service at first consisted of 19 round trips daily on hourly headway.
In the early years, cars coming into Monmouth from Galesburg paralleled the CB&Q to Eleventh St. and then turned north on Eleventh to Broadway, where the line turned west to Public Square. The cars looped around one corner and then headed south to the ex-CB&Q depot, where they terminated on the north side of the building, while Northern Division cars terminated on the south side.

The Cameron carbarn burned down on Aug. 6, 1918, reducing the roster to two cars and destroying the substation. The company went into receivership on July 7, 1918, and was then reorganized as the Galesburg and Western Railroad on Nov. 26. The name was changed to avoid confusion between the Rock Island Southern Railroad (the Eastern Division) and the Rock Island Southern Railway (the Northern Division.) On Dec. 1st, 1918, the G&W was leased to the Rock Island Southern Railway.

By 1921 only 8 trains a day were operated, barely more than the 6 trains operated by the CB&Q on the same route. About this time, the city tracks in Monmouth were abandoned, and the track was rerouted at Eleventh St. so the cars ran along the CB&Q all the way to the depot, and terminated on the south side of the depot. By now the AC electrification of the Northern Division had been removed, so there was no conflict. The local highway was paved in 1924 and the G&W ended passenger service soon thereafter.

By 1925 only two daily freight runs remained and by 1931 this was reduced to one. A succession of second-hand freight motors were used as motive power, and gradual deterioration of the tracks and bridges reduced service to one through train a week by 1949, plus local switching at the terminal cities. By 1951 the only operational motive power was a Differential dump car from Kansas City, and service finally ended on March 29.

EASTERN DIVISION ROSTER

No.	Built	In svc	OOS	Type	Builder	Notes
PASSENGER EQUIPMENT
201	1906	1906	1918	Wood Combines 52'	St. Louis	Burned in Cameron fire 8/6/18
202			1934			Rebuilt to locomotive c. 1920; not scrapped until 1951
203						Burned in Monmouth fire c. 1931
240	1904	?	?	City car – Monmouth?	St. Louis	Ex-Tri Cities #240, renumbered #2 (?)
130	1878	1908	?	Ex-New York Elevated cars	Wason
193	1878	1908	?	Ex-New York Elevated cars	Gilbert
FREIGHT EQUIPMENT
301	1907	1907		Box motor	St. Louis	Burned in Monmouth fire
800		1940	c. 1947	Locomotive		Acq. from Moline, rebuilt streetcar
2012	1920	1934	1940	Box motor	Kuhlman	Acq. from Eastern Michigan Rwy.; not scrapped until 1951
0035		1947	1951	Dump car	Differential	Acq. from Kansas City